page_title: School uniforms by country
section_title: South Korea
hierarchical_section_title: School uniforms by country / South Korea
caption_attribution_description: 한국어: 2014년 2월 11일 진정선의 한림예고 졸업식장에서의 모습English: Jin Jung-seon at Hanlim Art High School.
context_page_description: School uniform is a practice which dates to the 16th century in England. It is believed that the Christ's Hospital school in London in 1552 was the first school to use a uniform for its students. The earliest documented proof of institutionalised use of a standard academic dress dates back to 1222 when the Archbishop of Canterbury ordered the wearing of the cappa clausa.
  The practice of wearing school uniform has been adopted by many other countries, and is now common in many parts of the world. Uniforms can be regarded as promoting social equality among students and an esprit de corps, but have also been criticised for promoting a form of uniformity characteristic of militarism.
  The decision as to whether to implement school uniform policy or not is a controversial one and also polarised in societies and countries. In countries such as the United Kingdom, South Africa and a number of Asian nations, school children have to wear approved school uniforms that conform to the uniform policy of their school.
context_section_description: Almost all South Korean secondary students wear a uniform called "gyobok" (Korean: 교복, 校服). The majority of elementary schools, except some private ones, do not have uniforms; however, the uniform is strictly monitored from the start of middle school and up. Based on Western-style ones, the South Korean uniform usually consists of a shirt, blazer and tie, with skirts for girls and trousers for boys.
  More recently, the uniform is often worn by celebrities who target the younger, teen audience to sell entertainment products. The school uniform and school setting is frequently used as a venue for romance. As a result, the uniform has become something akin to an expression of fashion among students.
  Name tags that are worn usually have different colours per grade. Oftentimes the writing is in black or white, whereas the background is coloured.
caption: South Korean school uniform
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